The Third Persons Spiral of Silence

This weeks readings tried to offer a lot of explanation. They examined two interesting new ways to look at media effects and examining public opinion. Especially in this section of our readings we realize how environment can also effect the way a publics opinions are expressed. They take an especially close look at public opinion and ways that it can be manipulated. I am going to focus most of my reading response on the “spiral of silence” model because it caught my interest more so than the third person effect. But I want to be sure to include the ideas of third person effect because they are of course important.
The most interesting thing about the third person effect is that there is exactly that, a third person. We often times think of the public’s interaction with the mass media to be an exchange. An action reaction system that includes only the public and then the mass media. Our readings on the third person effect for this week ask us to take another look. A more thorough and more revealing look. We examine the ways that this “other party” is manipulating our mass media, as well as our public. It makes an interesting examination of the ways that national leaders, advertising, and many others are taking this media and using it to their own advantage. These other parties are using the media to mobilize the masses, to get the public interested and excited about their ideas and platforms.
This article also goes back and forth between the argument of the limited effects that media can have, while also citing the very real and powerful, direct, messages these media outlets have on the public. It is without question impossible to say that a media message effects all the public all the time. But it is also reasonable to say that effect a media message can have on a public can be drastic. We must also not forget that even unintended messages can be spread to unexpected audiences.
Now though I want to move my focus to the spiral of silence model. This model takes a very revealing look at the idea of communication. In chapter 9 of the Kennamer chapters, it begins with “communication is at the very heart of the fundamental tension between individual liberties and societal boundaries.” Like the spiral of silence model, this point can be best examined in a totalitarian regime. This leads me to my next point. I want to make sure to note that I believe the spiral of silence model does a good job of explaining the “why or why not” of people speaking up in society. Our massive society is of course intimidating to the individual, and there is good reason why not just your average person would be willing to risk it all and create a one-person revolution. Though, the individual environment that the spiral of silence model was created in differs slightly from the individual environment that has been created in the modern day US. Because of these reasons it has made the model hard to test, but without any doubt I can say that this model does one of the best jobs to at least partly explain the role of the individual within the public and mass media.
As is demonstrated in all the readings, we can see that public opinion is a force to be reckoned with. It can create change, and with the use of public polling we can see how it can mold things so important as our government. Before making any important moves within society today, it is always vital to turn to public opinion.

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“This weeks readings tried to offer a lot of explanation. They examined two interesting new ways to look at media effects and examining public opinion. Especially in this section of our readings we realize how environment can also effect the way a publics opinions are expressed. They take an especially close look at public opinion and ways that it can be manipulated. ” —- I would like to take these sentences off and touch the topic immediately.

In the second paragraph, your summary about the Third PErson Effect does not get the main point.